Mayor Donna Deegan announced the city's new online swag store at a news conference next to the iconic orange Rex dinosaur statue at a shopping center on Beach Boulevard near Peach Drive. | News4Jax
Published on July 8, 2025 at 12:36 pm
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An online store with all kinds of Jacksonville-themed gear is now open for business, and designed to fund city marketing efforts.
Along with the shop selling merch like “I Dig Jax” T-shirts, stickers with the iconic orange Rex the Dinosaur statue imprint, and River City Readers glitter stickers, the city has kicked off a #RexMarksTheSpot Scavenger Hunt that invites residents to find five little Rex statues hidden around town.
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Announcing the new swag store and scavenger hunt in the shadow of Rex, the orange dinosaur statue who fronts a Beach Boulevard shopping center, Mayor Donna Deegan said the new merchandise will let residents and visitors “give back and represent Jacksonville in style.”
“This store is about more than just swag, it is about connection,” Deegan said. “…And we are spending zero tax dollars on setting up this store thanks to the sponsorships we set up with vendors.”
All items on the City Swag Store are produced by Zazzle and Sticker Mule, and made to order, then sold directly to consumers, city officials say. Products from Zazzle include a 10% royalty percentage that goes to the city’s Public Affairs Office to support marketing efforts for citywide events and initiatives.
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Prices include $35.41 for sweatshirts and $15.35 for T-shirts, $$14.03 for the “I Dig Jax” ballcap, and $26 for a package of 10 River City Readers glitter stickers, the website shows.
Deegan says the artwork was designed by local artists. Shoppers can choose from a stylized “I Dig Jax” logo or the the image of the iconic 20-foot-tall T-Rex statue that used to grace a now-defunct mini golf attraction on Beach Boulevard. The concrete statue was renovated over 20 years ago when the site became a shopping center and has become so iconic that Deegan called it the city’s “unofficial mascot that’s been bringing smiles to driver for years.”
“I Dig Jax“refers to a city campaign that Deegan announced in February to help keep citizens updated on the scope and progress of all the city’s pending riverfront construction projects.
“As you have probably noticed, we are seeing exciting new projects popping up all over our city,” Deegan says. “I Dig Jax is about building a city that we are proud to call home, and now you can wear that pride on your sleeve, literally, so let’s show that pride.”
Other stickers and T-shirts carry the River City Readers program logo. The mayor kicked off that program in January to improve the literacy of young students using a free app called Beanstack so they can log their reading minutes, accompanied by monthly literacy events. Some proceeds from those swag sales will go to support that program, Deegan says.
#IDigJax Scavenger Hunt
The “I Dig Jax Scavenger Hunt” was created by the mayor’s City Council Liaison Bill Delaney. The city will be hiding five miniature Rexies crafted by Forge 3D Printing Studio all over the city.
“They even have the little bone and shovel – I love it,” Deegan says. “We are hiding them in spots all over Jacksonville, and you get to go find them.”
The first clue of where to find the mini-Rexie statue is posted on the city’s social media pages.
“Check out this saurus, he’s top shelf. Use this to grab him for yourself: Y 567.9129 FRENCH,” the first clue says.
Those who find the statues should post a photo of Rexie on social media with the hashtag #IDigJax or #RexMarksTheSpot, Deegan says (and then leave them for the next person to find).
